Space efficient enclosures for different sized drives

ABSTRACT

Systems and manufacturing methods are disclosed herein that can beneficially reduce manufacturing cost while providing size efficient enclosures to house hard drives or other types of storage drives. An enclosure system can be used for separately housing one of two storage devices having different thicknesses. A first portion can be interchangeable with both storage devices. Second and third portions can each have a thickness to size efficiently accommodate the thickness of one storage device. Each of the second and third portions has an engagement surface to engage the first portion forming an enclosure. Either the first portion, or both second and third portions can comprise an opening or a shock mounting element. When the opening or the shock mounting element are on both the second and third portions, the opening or the shock mounting element is collectively identically spaced from the engagement surface on both the second and third portions.

BACKGROUND

A hard disk drive or hard drive (HDD) is a storage drive used forstoring and retrieving digital information. Hard drives come in multipledata storage capacities generally resulting in different thicknesses.Hard drives of the same sized (diameter) disks typically increase inthickness as storage capacity increases. This is because disks aregenerally stacked on top of each other to increase capacity. At the sametime, customers demand size efficient enclosures to house their harddrive. Current common disk sizes include 1.8 inches, 2.5 inches, and 3.5inches, though other disk sizes can be used.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments are depicted in the accompanying drawings forillustrative purposes, and should in no way be interpreted as limitingthe scope of the inventions.

FIG. 1 shows three hard disk drives of varying thickness.

FIG. 2 is an example hard disk drive with reference surfaces.

FIG. 3 illustrates placement of components with respect to a datumplane.

FIG. 4 illustrates a common datum and common component placement acrossdiffering capacity and/or thickness hard disk drives.

FIG. 5 illustrates a common enclosure part placed with reference to thecommon datum plane on differing capacity and/or thickness hard diskdrives.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show a plurality of hard disk drives and theircorresponding enclosures in respective partially-exploded and assembledconditions.

FIG. 8 is an exploded view of an enclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Creating enclosures to hold each hard drive in the smallest possibleform factor generally requires multiple sets of costly fabrication toolsto accommodate the different thicknesses. Tooling is expensive andtherefore multiple sets of tools burden the final product with highdollar cost.

An alternative option is to create a one size fits all enclosure. Inthis option, the thickest hard drive controls the size of the enclosuresfor multiple capacities of hard drive with the same sized disks. Thissolution does not provide the best space efficient solution; however, itonly requires one set of fabrication tools. This solution offers thebest product fabrication cost but sacrifices space efficiency.

Improved systems and manufacturing methods are disclosed herein that canbeneficially reduce manufacturing cost while providing size efficientenclosures to house hard drives or other types of storage drives. Acommon datum plane “D” across a plurality of different capacity and/orthickness hard disk drives of the same size disks can be used to createa common enclosure part. In this way, the enclosure can be the smallestenclosure thickness while decreasing the amount of tooling cost. It willbe understood that the concepts described herein can be employed forother uses and with other devices, including, but not limited to, othertypes of storage drives, computers, and all types of sensitiveelectronic devices. For example, the method and system may also be usedwith solid-state drives (SSD) and solid-state hybrid drives (SSHD).

Three hard disk drives 10, 10′, 10″ of varying thickness are shown inFIG. 1. The different thickness hard drives can each have a common datumplane “D” from which other features of the hard drive are commonlypositioned. The illustrated three hard disk drives include a first harddisk 10 having a thickness of 7 mm and a storage capacity of either 500GB or 1 TB, a second hard disk 10′ having a thickness of 9.5 mm and astorage capacity of 1 TB, and a third hard disk 10″ having a thicknessof 15 mm and a storage capacity of 2 TB. All three of the hard diskshave the same diameter disks, though this is not required. Hard diskswith other thicknesses and capacities can also be used.

The common datum plane can be established by reference surfaces 12 asshown in FIG. 2. The reference surfaces can be part of a frame of thehard drive, to which the circuit board, rotating disks and othercomponents can be attached. The reference surfaces can be machined toensure a high standard of precision in their relative placement withrespect to one another.

When assembling a hard drive, a common datum plane, established by thereference surfaces 12, can be used as a reference to position componentson the hard drive. The datum plane is commonly referred to as the bottomof the hard drive.

These positioned components can include mounting holes 14, electricalconnectors (USB port, Serial ATA (SATA), etc.) 16, and/or indicatorlights 24, among other features. As shown in FIG. 3, the position of anelectrical connector 16, in the form of a USB port, and the position ofa mounting hole 14 are both made with reference to the datum plane “D”.The center of the USB port 16 can be positioned a length “L_(C)” abovethe datum plane. Likewise, the center of the mounting hole 14 can bepositioned a length “L_(M)” above the datum plane. These features can bepositioned in this manner across a number of different capacity harddrives to ensure repeatable and predictable placement of the variouscomponents.

For example, all 2.5 inch hard drives, independent of the storagecapacity and thickness, can have the same dimensions between the datumplane and the referenced components, such as between the datum plane andthe USB port (“L_(C)”) and between the datum plane and the mountingholes (“L_(M)”). This is illustrated in FIG. 4 with three hard drives10, 10′, 10″ of differing thickness.

An enclosure system for different capacity and/or thickness hard diskdrives can include a common enclosure part. The common enclosure partcan utilize the common datum plane across the different hard diskdrives. One or more additional parts can connect to the common enclosurepart to form the enclosure. These additional parts may vary in sizedepending on the hard drive capacity and/or thickness to ensure thesmallest, most efficient sized enclosure is provided.

The common enclosure part is preferably either the top or the bottom ofthe enclosure, though it may also be a middle part of the enclosure. Thecommon enclosure part can engage the common datum plane or otherwise beprecisely placed with respect to the common datum plane.

As shown in FIG. 5, a common enclosure part 20 can be a common cover orlid for the enclosure. The common cover 20 can be part of a two pieceenclosure such as those illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. As can be seen,the common cover 20 can be used on each of the three different harddrives 10, 10′, 10″. A unique bottom part 22, 22′, 22″, such as theillustrated bottom tub-shaped part can be size efficient—sized to fiteach corresponding hard drive of a particular capacity and/or thickness.

In FIGS. 5 and 6, the hard drives 10, 10′, 10″ are shown with the datumplane or bottom of the hard drive in FIGS. 1-4, facing upwards. This isupside down from their more typical orientation. In this manner, thecommon enclosure part 20 engages the common datum plane. The electricalconnector(s) 16, mounting holes 14, indicator light(s) 24 and any otherprecisely placed components on the hard drive are now precisely locatedwith respect to the common enclosure part 20. In addition, it can beseen that shock mounts 26 are connected to the mounting holes 14 on thehard drives and are also precisely placed with respect to the commondatum plane.

Access holes and mounting locations in the enclosure can be locatedaccordingly with respect to the common enclosure part 20. It will beunderstood that that this can be the case whether the common enclosurepart 20 is the top, bottom or middle portion of the enclosure. Inaddition, the common enclosure part 20 can engage the common datum planeor otherwise be precisely located with respect to the common datumplane.

For example, in FIGS. 6 and 7, it can be seen that a hole 28 for theindicator light 24 and an access hole 30 for the USB port 16 can belocated at the same location down “L_(O)” from the top of the bottompart 22, 22′, 22″ of the enclosure. In other embodiments these two holescan be at different locations down from the top while still beingconsistently placed on different bottom parts 22, 22′, 22″. In otherembodiments, one or more of these features (hole for the indicator lightand access hole for the USB port) can be part of the common enclosurepart 20.

Mounting locations 32 for shock mounts 26 on the hard drives can also bepositioned consistently on different bottom parts 22, 22′, 22″. FIG. 8illustrates the mounting locations 32 on one of the bottom parts 22 ofan enclosure 40. Each mounting location 32 can receive a correspondingshock mount 26.

As can also be seen in FIG. 8, the enclosure can also include connectingfeatures 34, 36 for connecting the top 20 and bottom 22 parts of theenclosure 40. The connecting features 34, 36 can be snap fit members, orother types of connectors. Each of the bottom parts 22, 22′, 22″ canhave connecting features 36 positioned to connect with correspondingconnecting features 34 on the common enclosure part 20.

A series of enclosures for different capacity hard drives with a commonenclosure part positioned with respect to the common datum plane canlocate critical features like USB or SATA connector openings, HDD shockmounting elements and LED indicators. These features can be on thecommon enclosure part or on a part of varying thickness specific to aparticular disk drive. The enclosures can be two-piece enclosures with acommon top or bottom.

A common enclosure part can beneficially reduce manufacturing cost whileproviding size efficient enclosures to house the hard drives. The commonenclosure part can reduce the overall cost of manufacturing the assemblyas it increases the number of components that are independent of thehard drive specifics. Thus, the common enclosure part and can be usedacross different capacity and/or thickness hard drives with the same ordifferent sized disks or with different types of storage drives. In thisway, the enclosure can be the smallest enclosure thickness whiledecreasing the amount of tooling cost.

It will be understood that though the enclosure system has beendescribed primarily with reference to hard drives of the same sized(diameter) disks having different thicknesses and/or storage capacities,use of the enclosure system is not restricted to only this scenario. Forexample, the enclosure system can also be used with storage drives thatare the same thickness and/or capacity, but different numbers of storagedrives can be contained within each enclosure. Thus, a first enclosuremay include a single storage drive and a second enclosure may includetwo or more of the same type, size and thickness of storage drives. Inaddition, the enclosure system with the common enclosure part can beused across different storage platforms, such as to reduce cost overmultiple product lines.

In some embodiments, an enclosure system can be used for separatelyhousing one of two storage devices having different thicknesses. A firstportion can be interchangeable with both storage devices. Second andthird portions can each have a thickness to size efficiently accommodatethe thickness of one storage device. Each of the second and thirdportions has an engagement surface to engage the first portion formingan enclosure. Either the first portion, or both second and thirdportions can comprise an opening or a shock mounting element. When theopening or the shock mounting element are on both the second and thirdportions, the opening or the shock mounting element is collectivelyidentically spaced from the engagement surface on both the second andthird portions.

In some embodiments, an enclosure system can be used for housing one ofa first plurality of hard drives having a first thickness or a secondplurality of hard drives having a second thickness different from thefirst. The enclosure system can comprise a first portion configured toengage a reference surface of the hard drive to be housed in theenclosure, of either the first or second pluralities of hard drives, anda second portion having a thickness selected to accommodate thethickness of the hard drive to be housed in the enclosure. The secondportion can comprise one of 2 different second portions—a first-secondportion and a second-second portion. The first-second portion can have athickness to accommodate a hard drive of the first plurality of harddrives and the second-second portion can have a thickness to accommodatea hard drive of the second plurality of hard drives. The second portioncan have an engagement surface configured to engage the first portion,the second portion with a connector opening, shock mount elements, andoptionally an LED indicator consistently located from the engagementsurface across the first-second portions and the second-second portions.The first portion can be common to each hard drive regardless of harddrive thickness. In some embodiments, the first portion is the topportion of the enclosure, while in other embodiments it is the bottomportion of the enclosure.

The enclosure system can also be used to house one of a third pluralityof hard drives having a third thickness different from both the firstand second thicknesses. A third-second portion can have a thickness toaccommodate a hard drive of the third plurality of hard drives.

According to certain embodiments, an enclosure can be used for housingone of a first plurality of hard drives having a first thickness or asecond plurality of hard drives having a second thickness different fromthe first. The enclosure can comprise a first portion that locates aconnector opening, shock mount elements, and optionally an LEDindicator, and a second portion having a thickness selected toaccommodate the thickness of the hard drive to be housed in theenclosure. The first portion can be common to each hard drive regardlessof hard drive thickness. In some embodiments, the first portion is thetop portion of the enclosure, while in other embodiments it is thebottom portion of the enclosure.

In some embodiments, an enclosure system can be used for housing one ofa first plurality of hard drives having a first thickness or a secondplurality of hard drives having a second thickness different from thefirst. The enclosure system can comprise a first portion and a secondportion. The first portion can be configured to engage a referencesurface of a hard drive for housing within the enclosure, of either thefirst or second pluralities of hard drives. The second portion can havea thickness selected to accommodate the thickness of the hard drive tobe housed in the enclosure. The second portion can comprise one of afirst-second portion and a second-second portion. The first-secondportion can have a thickness to accommodate a hard drive of the firstplurality of hard drives and the second-second portion can have athickness to accommodate a hard drive of the second plurality of harddrives. The second portion can have an engagement surface configured toengage the first portion. The second portion can comprise one or more ofa connector opening, shock mount elements, and optionally an LEDindicator, each consistently located from the engagement surface acrossthe first-second portions and the second-second portions. The firstportion can be common to each hard drive regardless of hard drivethickness.

An enclosure system in some embodiments can be used for separatelyhousing one of a first plurality of storage devices having a firstthickness and one of a second plurality of storage devices having asecond thickness different from the first thickness. The enclosuresystem can comprise a first portion, a second portion, and a thirdportion. The first portion can be configured to engage a referencesurface of a storage device for housing within an enclosure, the firstportion being interchangeable with both the first and second pluralitiesof storage devices. The second portion can have a third thickness toaccommodate the first thickness of storage device of the first pluralityof storage devices. The third portion can have a fourth thickness toaccommodate the second thickness of storage device of the secondplurality of storage devices, the fourth thickness being different fromthe third thickness. Each of the second and third portions can comprisean engagement surface configured to engage the first portion to form anenclosure to house a storage device, an electrical connector opening,and shock mounting elements comprising either shock mounts or shockmount receiving elements. The electrical connector opening and the shockmounting elements can be collectively identically spaced from theengagement surface on both the second portion and the third portion.

In some embodiments of the enclosure system the first portion is the topportion of the enclosure. Each of the second and third portions mayfurther comprise an indicator light opening, the indicator light openingidentically spaced from the engagement surface on both the secondportion and the third portion. A fourth portion can have a fifththickness to accommodate a storage device of a third plurality ofstorage devices, the fifth thickness being different from both the thirdand fourth thicknesses. The fourth portion, similar to the second andthird portions, can also include an engagement surface, an electricalconnector opening, and shock mounting elements, the electrical connectoropening and the shock mounting elements being collectively identicallyspaced from the engagement surface on the second, third, and fourthportions.

In some embodiments, an enclosure system can be used for separatelyhousing one of a first plurality of storage devices having a firstthickness and one of a second plurality of storage devices having asecond thickness different from the first thickness. The enclosuresystem can comprise first, second and third portions. The first portioncan be configured to engage a reference surface of a storage device forhousing within an enclosure, the first portion being interchangeablewith both the first and second pluralities of storage devices. Thesecond portion can have a third thickness to accommodate the firstthickness of storage device of the first plurality of storage devices.The third portion can have a fourth thickness to accommodate the secondthickness of storage device of the second plurality of storage devices,the fourth thickness being different from the third thickness, each ofthe second and third portions comprising an engagement surfaceconfigured to engage the first portion to form an enclosure to house astorage device. Either the first portion, or both the second and thirdportions can comprise at least one electrical connector opening; and atleast one shock mounting element comprising either at least one shockmount or shock mount receiving element; wherein, when the at least oneelectrical connector opening and the at least one shock mounting elementare on both the second and third portions, the at least one electricalconnector opening and the at least one shock mounting element arecollectively identically spaced from the engagement surface on both thesecond portion and the third portion.

The first portion may further comprise an indicator light opening, andthe at least one electrical connector opening and the at least one shockmounting element are on the first portion. Each of the second and thirdportions can further comprise an indicator light opening, the indicatorlight opening identically spaced from the engagement surface on both thesecond portion and the third portion.

According to certain embodiments, a manufacturing method can be used forassembling a storage drive. The method can include one or more of thefollowing steps. Selecting a hard disk drive from among a first groupand a second group, the first group having a first thickness that isdifferent from a second thickness of the second group. Selecting anenclosure to house the hard disk drive, the enclosure having a firstpart and a second part, the first part being compatible with both of thefirst and second groups of hard disk drives and the second part having athickness specific to the selected hard disk drive of the first andsecond groups of hard disk drives. Selecting an enclosure can furthercomprise selecting a second part from among a third group and a fourthgroup, the third group having a third thickness and the fourth grouphaving a fourth thickness different from the third thickness. Assemblingthe storage drive by placing the hard disk drive within one of the partsof the enclosure and connecting the first and second parts of theenclosure. The enclosure can comprise an electrical connector opening,and shock mounting elements comprising either shock mounts or shockmount receiving elements. The electrical connector opening and shockmounting elements can be positioned on either the first part or thesecond part, when on the second part being collectively identicallyspaced from an engagement surface on the second part of both the thirdgroup and the fourth group, the engagement surface configured to engagethe first part to form the enclosure.

In some methods each hard disk drive of the first group can have a firststorage capacity different from the second group. Selecting a hard diskdrive can further comprise selecting a hard disk drive from among thefirst group, the second group, and a third group, the third group havinga storage capacity and/or thickness different from that of the first andsecond groups.

A manufacturing method for assembling a storage drive according to someembodiments can be provided. The method can include one or more of thefollowing steps. Selecting a hard disk drive from either a first groupor a second group (or optionally a third group). The first group havinga first storage capacity and/or thickness that is different from thesecond group. Selecting an enclosure to house the hard disk drive, theenclosure having a first part and a second part. The first part beingcompatible with both of the first and second groups of hard disk drivesand the second part having a thickness specific to the selected harddisk drive of the first and second groups of hard disk drives.Assembling the storage drive by placing the hard disk drive within oneof the parts of the enclosure and connecting the first and second partsof the enclosure.

Each hard disk drive having a reference datum plane from which anelectrical connector and mounting holes are measured. The distancesbeing the same between the first group and the second group. The firstpart engaged with the reference datum plane in the assembled state suchthat the electrical connector and mounting holes are in the samerelative position with respect to the first part independent of whetherthe disk drive is from the first group or the second group.

The described enclosures and methods provide many advantages andbenefits. This invention provides the most size efficient HDD enclosureswith the least amount of tooling cost. It meets the need of the smallestHDD enclosure for the customer without size specific tooling thusremoving a large cost burden (from tooling) to the product resulting inbetter profit margins.

Although this invention has been disclosed in the context of certainpreferred embodiments and examples, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that the present invention extends beyond thespecifically disclosed embodiments to other alternative embodimentsand/or uses of the invention and obvious modifications and equivalentsthereof. In addition, while a number of variations of the invention havebeen shown and described in detail, other modifications, which arewithin the scope of this invention, will be readily apparent to those ofskill in the art based upon this disclosure. It is also contemplatedthat various combinations or sub-combinations of the specific featuresand aspects of the embodiments may be made and still fall within thescope of the invention. Accordingly, it should be understood thatvarious features and aspects of the disclosed embodiments can becombined with or substituted for one another in order to form varyingmodes of the disclosed invention. Thus, it is intended that the scope ofthe present invention herein disclosed should not be limited by theparticular disclosed embodiments described above.

What is claimed is:
 1. An enclosure system for separately housing one ofa first plurality of storage devices having a first thickness and one ofa second plurality of storage devices having a second thicknessdifferent from the first thickness, the enclosure system comprising: afirst portion configured to engage a reference surface of a storagedevice for housing within an enclosure, the first portion beinginterchangeable with both the first and second pluralities of storagedevices; a second portion having a third thickness to accommodate thefirst thickness of storage device of the first plurality of storagedevices; and a third portion having a fourth thickness to accommodatethe second thickness of storage device of the second plurality ofstorage devices, the fourth thickness being different from the thirdthickness; wherein each of the second and third portions comprise: anengagement surface configured to engage the first portion to form anenclosure to house a storage device; an electrical connector opening;and shock mounting elements comprising either shock mounts or shockmount receiving elements; wherein the electrical connector opening andthe shock mounting elements are collectively identically spaced from theengagement surface on both the second portion and the third portion. 2.The enclosure system of claim 1, wherein the first portion is the topportion of the enclosure.
 3. The enclosure system of claim 1, whereineach of the second and third portions further comprising an indicatorlight opening, the indicator light opening identically spaced from theengagement surface on both the second portion and the third portion. 4.The enclosure system of claim 1, further comprising a fourth portionhaving a fifth thickness to accommodate a storage device of a thirdplurality of storage devices, the fifth thickness being different fromboth the third and fourth thicknesses.
 5. The enclosure system of claim4, wherein the fourth portion, similar to the second and third portions,also comprises an engagement surface, an electrical connector opening,and shock mounting elements, the electrical connector opening and theshock mounting elements being collectively identically spaced from theengagement surface on the second, third, and fourth portions.
 6. Theenclosure system of claim 1, wherein the first portion comprises a firstsnap-fit member and each of the second and third portions comprise acorresponding second snap-fit member configured to engage with the firstsnap-fit member to form a snap-fit connection.
 7. The enclosure systemof claim 1, comprising one of the first plurality of storage devicespositioned within the first portion and the second portion.
 8. Anenclosure system for separately housing one of a first plurality ofstorage devices having a first thickness and one of a second pluralityof storage devices having a second thickness different from the firstthickness, the enclosure system comprising: a first portion configuredto engage a reference surface of a storage device for housing within anenclosure, the first portion being interchangeable with both the firstand second pluralities of storage devices; a second portion having athird thickness to accommodate the first thickness of storage device ofthe first plurality of storage devices; and a third portion having afourth thickness to accommodate the second thickness of storage deviceof the second plurality of storage devices, the fourth thickness beingdifferent from the third thickness, each of the second and thirdportions comprising an engagement surface configured to engage the firstportion to form an enclosure to house a storage device; wherein eitherthe first portion, or both the second and third portions comprise: atleast one electrical connector opening; and at least one shock mountingelement comprising either at least one shock mount or shock mountreceiving element; wherein, when the at least one electrical connectoropening and the at least one shock mounting element are on both thesecond and third portions, the at least one electrical connector openingand the at least one shock mounting element are collectively identicallyspaced from the engagement surface on both the second portion and thethird portion.
 9. The enclosure system of claim 8, wherein the firstportion is the top portion of the enclosure.
 10. The enclosure system ofclaim 8, wherein the first portion further comprises an indicator lightopening, and the at least one electrical connector opening and the atleast one shock mounting element are on the first portion.
 11. Theenclosure system of claim 8, wherein each of the second and thirdportions further comprising an indicator light opening, the indicatorlight opening identically spaced from the engagement surface on both thesecond portion and the third portion.
 12. The enclosure system of claim8, further comprising a fourth portion having a fifth thickness toaccommodate a storage device of a third plurality of storage devices,the fifth thickness being different from both the third and fourththicknesses.
 13. The enclosure system of claim 8, wherein the firstportion comprises a first snap-fit member and each of the second andthird portions comprise a corresponding second snap-fit memberconfigured to engage with the first snap-fit member to form a snap-fitconnection.
 14. The enclosure system of claim 8, comprising one of thefirst plurality of storage devices positioned within the first portionand the second portion.
 15. A manufacturing method for assembling astorage drive comprising: selecting a hard disk drive from among a firstgroup and a second group, the first group having a first thickness thatis different from a second thickness of the second group; selecting anenclosure to house the hard disk drive, the enclosure having a firstpart and a second part, the first part being compatible with both of thefirst and second groups of hard disk drives and the second part having athickness specific to the selected hard disk drive of the first andsecond groups of hard disk drives, selecting an enclosure furthercomprising: selecting a second part from among a third group and afourth group, the third group having a third thickness and the fourthgroup having a fourth thickness different from the third thickness; andassembling the storage drive by placing the hard disk drive within oneof the parts of the enclosure and connecting the first and second partsof the enclosure, the enclosure comprising: an electrical connectoropening; and shock mounting elements comprising either shock mounts orshock mount receiving elements; wherein, the electrical connectoropening and shock mounting elements are positioned on either the firstpart or the second part, when on the second part being collectivelyidentically spaced from an engagement surface on the second part of boththe third group and the fourth group, the engagement surface configuredto engage the first part to form the enclosure.
 16. The manufacturingmethod of claim 15, wherein each hard disk drive of the first grouphaving a first storage capacity different from the second group.
 17. Themanufacturing method of claim 15, wherein selecting a hard disk drivefurther comprises selecting a hard disk drive from among the firstgroup, the second group, and a third group, the third group having astorage capacity and/or thickness different from that of the first andsecond groups.